Sunday, November 30, 2014

Oh. Em. Gee. That's really all I have to say for this recipe. I could've eatn an entire saucepan of this stuff. It was so. Good. You need to make this. Like yesterday. You won't be disappointed.

Risotto can be intimidating. I know I was scared the first time I made it. But honestly, it's super easy. The worst part is that it's a bit time consuming as you have to stir it a lot, but it's not that bad! Even with that, this dish is totally worth it.

In a large skillet, heat one tablespoon oil and one tablespoon butter over low heat, then add mushrooms. Let caramelize for 10-15 minutes.

While the mushrooms are cooking, heat a large saucepan over medium heat and heat the vegetable oil and butter. Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add rice, tossing to coat in butter and oil and stir for 3-4 minutes. Add wine, stirring every few minutes until all liquid is absorbed. Once absorbed, add one cup stock, stir and let absorb like you did with the wine. Continue 2-3 more times until stock is absorbed. This should take about 15 minutes. Taste to determine if rice is cooked to your liking, if not, add one more cup of broth.

Place salmon skin side down on a greased baking sheet. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Brush with some of the vinegar mixture. Bake for about 5 minutes or until salmon is flaky. Top with remaining vinegar mixture.

I was a bit hesitant to try these, but I had everything on hand so decided to give it a whirl. They were actually some of the best cookies I've ever made. They stayed chewy for days. Yes, the picture looks like they fell apart. I think they just need to cool on the baking sheet instead of a wire rack.

Using the same skillet, add remaining olive oil, butter, onion and mushrooms, stirring frequently for about 7 minutes or until tender. Stir in garlic and cook for one more minute. Stir in wine, cook for 4-5 minutes or until wine is reduced be half. Add heavy whipping cream, parsley, salt, pepper and chicken. Reduce heat, simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occassionally, until thickened.

Sprinkle the pizza crust with 3/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Spoon chicken mixture over cheese, then top with remaining cheeses. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.

I've been on a huge bruschetta and caprese kick (they kind of go hand in hand, doncha think?). I just think the flavors are amazing and (usually) very, very fresh. This was a very simple pasta dish that had all the flavors I love.

Meanahile, in a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add chicken and salt and pepper to taste and cook until chicken is no longer pink in middle, about 8 minutes, turning frequently. Set aside once cooked.

In the same skillet, add remaining olive oil, butter, and garlic. Heat on medium-high for 1 minute. Add diced tomatoes, reduce heat to medium and saute for about 5 minutes. Add lemon juice and cook for an additional 2 minutes.

Toss pasta with the sauce, add chicken and basil right before serving.

This is a super simple, throw it in the slow cooker, and eat when you get home. I've made this recipe twice now. This first time, I used my Homemade Cream of Anything Mix. I will say, I prefer using the canned stuff, but only because it makes it a bit thicker.

I can't say I've ever really been a fan of everything bagels, but when I saw this recipe I knew I just had to make it. The first time I tried it, I tried in my bread maker. Let's just saw it overflowed and did not go well. I decided to give it one more whirl and it was worth it.

First of all, it makes a ton of bread. No wonder it overflowed the bread maker! It was extremely tasty too! Pretty easy to make, a bit messy to eat, but totally worth it.

In a large bowl, combine yeast and warm water until dissolved. Add milk, butter, sugar, egg yolk, salt and two cups flour. Beat on medium for about 3 minutes and stir in additional flour until dough is firm.

Turn onto a floured surface and knead 6-8 minutes or until elastic. Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise for one hour.

Turn down down on a lightly floured surface and divide into three parts and shape into 20-inch long ropes. Place ropes on a greased baking sheet and braid; pinch ends to seal and turn over. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine egg white and water and brush over bread. Mix together remaining ingredients and sprinkle over bread. Bake 22-28 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Fit the pie crust into a 9-inch pie dish. Fill with berries and top with 1/4 cup sugar.

In a medium bowl, combine remaining ingredients until well mixed. Pour over berries. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake for another 30-45 minutes or until custard is set.

Thursday, November 27, 2014

One of our favorite things to have a gathering (i.e. Packer party) is the Steakhouse Potato Salad from Pick 'n Save. I came across this recipe and decided to try it on my own. It turned out great, I think better than the premade kind from the store!

I also have to say, I kind of cheated and didn't actually bake the potatoes. I also kept the skins on, but you could surely peel them if you prefer.

As much as I think putting food in muffin tins is a fad, I do like it. These are really great warmed up the next day, so if you know you have a busy week, whip these up on Sunday night! You can put your own favorite ingredients in them, but I did like the ones that were in this recipe as something a little bit different.

Egg Muffins with Sausage and Spinach-adapted from Two Peas and Their PodTotal Time: 30 MinutesServes 6 (12 muffins)

When I came across this recipe, I knew I had to make it. Scott is a big fan of anything with biscuits (like biscuits and gravy), and I can't blame him! I used frozen veggies that I had on hand, but you could certainly use any that you have. It's just a good, comfort food meal!

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Whole Wheat Pancakes-adapted from Best Baking Recipes by Cooking Light

Total Time: 15 Minutes

Serves 6

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large egg

1 large egg white

Maple syrup and butter for serving

Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine butter, milk, oil, egg and egg white, stirring with a whisk. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture, stirring just until moist

Heat a nonstick griddle or skillet over medium heat. Coat paln with cooking spray. Spoon about 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto the griddle. Turn pancakes over when the tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Serve with syrup and butter.

This was a great chicken noodle soup. I usually only like chicken noodle soup when I'm sick, but this was something I could eat all the time. The only weird thing is that after letting it sit overnight is that it continued to thicken, so it got to be less of a soup the next few times I warmed it up. Maybe adding additional chicken broth would help when you want to warm it up again.

Place one onion and celery in a Dutch oven. Add the water, chicken, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken and strain broth; set both aside.

In the same pan, saute remaining diced onion and celery in butter until tender. Add canned broth, carrot, potato, bouillon, basil and reserved broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Add noodles, return to a boil and cook 6-8 minutes or until noodles are tender. Cut chicken into chunks; add to soup. Stir in 1 1/4 cups milk and heat through.

Combine flour and remining milk until smooth; add tos oup, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

This recipe was one of those that I was a bit hesitant to try. I mean, sugar....on steaks? Steak is one of my favorite foods so I'm always hesitant to try something new. Kind of like a 'If it's not broke, don't fix it' type mentality.

This was a wonderful new twist on steak that I'd definitely make again. The sugar glazed and almost tasted like a barbecue sauce to me.

Friday, November 14, 2014

Stuffed chicken is one of the more time consuming things I've made. And with how busy I've been lately, I don't like time consuming. However, once it's done and we're eating, it's absolutely delicious! This is a very rich dish, but usually you'll have everything in your kitchen, if you're like me!

In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, chives and garlic. Mold into three balls.

Place one cream cheese ball in the center of a butterflied piece of chicken, fold over, wrap with a slice of bacon and hold into place with toothpicks. Place in a baking dish and repeat with remaining pieces of chicken. Pour butter over chicken.

I love enchiladas. These were one of the best and easiest recipes I've ever made. The best part about enchiladas is that you can really add whatever you want to them. Same with quesadillas. Use whatever you have on hand and like!

In a medium skillet, heat vegetable oil, then saute onion and cumin until tender. Stir in the beans, olives and jalapeno.

Scoop about 3 tablespoons bean mixture to the center of each tortilla. Top with 1/4 cup cheese, roll tightly and place seam side down in baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Top with enchilada sauce and remaining cheese.

Bake, covered, for 30-35 minutes or until thoroughly heated and cheese is melted.

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Awhile ago, a good friend of ours gave us a bunch of dried chiles. I was really excited about them, but I'm not going to lie, I didn't do much with them. For a very long time. Well, I finally did! Here's some awesome chili that I made. It was spicy, but not too much that I couldn't eat it. Quite possibly, one of my favorite chilis!

Place the chiles in a slarge skillet over medium-low heat and gently toast the chiles until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Don't let them burn or they'll turn bitter. Place the chiles in a bowl and cover them with very hot water and soak until soft, 15 to 45 minutes, turning once or twice.

Drain the chiles; split them and remove stems and seeds (a brief rinse helps remove seeds, but don't wash away the flesh). Place the chiles in the bowl of a blender and add the cumin, black pepper, 1 tablespoon salt and 1/4 cup water. Purée the mixture, adding more water as needed (and occasionally scraping down the sides of the blender jar), until a smooth, slightly fluid paste forms (you want to eliminate all but the tiniest bits of skin.) Set the chile paste aside.

Return skillet to medium-high heat and heat four tablespoons vegetable oil and add the beef. Lightly brown on at least two sides, about 3 minutes per side, reducing the heat if the meat threatens to burn. Set aside.

Let the skillet cool slightly, and place it over medium-low heat. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in the skillet; add the onion and garlic and cook gently for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the stock, the remaining 2 cups water and gradually whisk in the masa harina to avoid lumps. Stir in the reserved chile paste, scraping the bottom of the skillet with a spatula to loosen any browned bits. Add the reserved beef and bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce heat to maintain the barest possible simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender but still somewhat firmt, about 2 hours.

Stir in the brown sugar and vinegar thoroughly and add more salt to taste; gently simmer 10 minutes more. Serve with sour cream and cheese.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

At work awhile ago, a coworker explained what poke cake is to me. I had never heard of it before. I didn't have an urge to go home and make it, but I did have in mind that I wanted to bake something for my team for really stepping up and doing a good job.

As soon as I got home and logged onto Facebook, I saw this recipe in my news feed! I first laughed, and then I decided it looked both easy and delicious that I just had to make it. It was delicious, to the point that Scott couldn't believe that I wasn't letting him and I eat it all. It's a very quick and easy dessert to make, and I'm pretty sure it's fool proof, which makes it even better.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make the cake mix according to package directions and add the pudding mix to the batter. Bake in a 9x13 inch pan for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 30 minutes.

After cake cools, use a small knife to poke holes in half inch intervals. Pour condensed milk over top of cake and smooth over all corners of cake. Let cake continue to cool and sink in.

Once cake is cooled, Top with Cool Whip and Oreos. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Monday, November 3, 2014

Man, a lot has happened, and it's already been two months since I've posted! I have been cooking, I just haven't been blogging. But I did get married and things have been super crazy at work, so I'm just trying to do things as I can. Finally, back to it!

I do remember eating and making this dish. It was quite simple, and tasted delicious. Other than that, I pretty much have the recipe as is since I didn't make any other notes. Enjoy!

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.

On a large plate, mix bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, cornmeal and pepper. In a pie plate, whisk egg white and salt.

Dip each piece of chicken into the egg mixture, then coat generously with the bread crumb mixture. Place chicken in prepared pan and continue with remaining pieces. Bake until chicken coating is crisp and juices run clear, about 35 minutes.